Sweetwater County, you are why we are here.
Thank you for trusting us to share your stories. We are grateful to live in such an amazing community with so many great stories to tell.
From us at SweetwaterNOW, this is our ode to you and some of our favorite stories from 2018. We are proud to live here with you.
Local Girl Invited to Wrestle at International Tournament in Japan
(Jan. 18, 2018)
Twelve-year-old Maggie Smith has been wrestling since she was four years old, and now she has been invited to go to an international tournament in Japan to wrestle as part of an exclusive team.
Maggie is one of seventeen wrestlers on the US team who have been invited to travel to Japan for an All-Female Japan Open.
The team, which is called American Kintaro Cultural Exchange, is the only United States team to compete at the tournament, and it is made up of girls from Wyoming, Montana, and California.
While at the international tournament, Maggie will have the opportunity to train with the 2020 Olympic committee, as well as compete against some of the top wrestlers around the world.
Read more here.
GRHS Wins Make-A-Wish Competition, Communities Raise over $56 Thousand Together
(Feb. 15, 2018)
After two weeks of fundraising, the Green River and Rock Springs communities raised $56,947.97 together for Make-A-Wish Wyoming.
The two communities started raising money to grant wishes through Make-A-Wish in 2004, in which they raised a grand total of $1,500 together. Since then, the community has become more involved in fundraising efforts.
Green River High School won the Make-A-Wish competition, raising over $28.5 thousand. Rock Springs High School raised over $24 thousand.
Read more here.
Rock Springs Teacher and Volunteer Turns 90 Years Old
(Feb. 27, 2018)
Sit with nearly 90-year-old Gloria Tomich, a retired Rock Springs High School teacher (of 15 years) and hospital volunteer (of 24 years), and one thing will become exceedingly obvious. Gloria knows everyone.
In the lobby of Memorial Hospital, dozens of passersby stop during the course of a 16-minute interview to say hi. Gloria said she runs into people she knows, former students, and hospital employees all the time.
“Sitting here, you see everybody in Rock Springs at one time or another,” said Gloria.
Read more here.
GRHS Teacher Provides ACT Prep for Students
(March 11, 2018)
Green River High School English teacher Victoria Hemphill is providing students with an opportunity to better prepare for the English portion of the ACT test to try to help them improve their scores.
Hemphill volunteers her time to help students prepare for the ACT by teaching them specific grammar rules, as well as teaching them what to expect from the test.
“I hope kids gets a feeling of readiness and a sense of being prepared for the test. It’s not a magical way to increase test scores, but it helps kids know what to expect,” Hemphill said.
Read more here.
Local Father and Angler Organizing First ‘Clean The Green’ Event
(April 9, 2018)
The Green River meanders through some amazing Wyoming landscape on the path into the town bearing its name.
From the cold, clear lakes of the Upper Green into the desert landscape of Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge.
The last 70 miles or so on the way into Green River is an area that sees quite a few visitors each year, every year. Camping, fishing, floating,recreation, travel and more. With this traffic has also come debris and garbage in and around the river.
One local angler and father finally decided it was time to do something about that. That’s when Josh Mace started to plan the “Clean the Green” event, scheduled for April 28.
Read more here.
Ranching in the Land of Their Grandfather [PHOTO ESSAY]
(April 22, 2018)
The sparse high-desert landscape is an unforgiving place for agriculture, but some hearty folks like those at the Thoman Ranch have been doing it for generations.
The Thoman Ranch, which straddles Lincoln and Sweetwater Counties about 40 miles north of Green River, goes back more than 100 years.
“It’s something bred into your soul, even though it’s terribly hard work,” said rancher Mary Thoman. Mary’s grandfather came to Kemmerer back in 1910.
Read more here.
Black Butte Graduates Youngest Student in the State in 8 Years, Maybe Ever
(May 24, 2018)
Black Butte High School has graduated what is presumed to be the youngest student to graduate from a public school in the State of Wyoming, at least for as far back as the 8 years the Wyoming State Board of Education data goes back.
At 13 years old, Walter “Brevon” Cole, would be in 8th grade if he were following a traditional education track. Instead, he beats the previous youngest graduate that the Wyoming Department of Education is aware of by more than a year.
Read more here.
County Says Goodbye to Bank of the West
(Aug. 21, 2018)
The Sweetwater County Commissioners made the decision to remove Bank of the West, BNP Paribas from the list of approved depositories for the County’s public funds at today’s Sweetwater County Commissioner meeting.
The County plans to sever all ties with Bank of the West by October 1, moving all accounts and funds to other banks.
Read more here.
Running For a Greater Purpose
(Nov. 24, 2018)
Rain, sleet, snow or sunshine, you’ll find Matt Hanson running up White Mountain every morning. The eight mile run has now become a ritual that takes place daily at 4:00 a.m. for Hanson.
Hanson, who works as a school counselor at Eastside Elementary, has Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Wisconsin native has faced his fair share of battles with ADHD, but has learned how to cope with it and use it to inspire others.
Read more here.
Beloved GRHS Secretary Retires After 24 Years in the District
(Dec. 19, 2018)
“Just dial 8300” is a phrase almost every staff member at Green River High School has said at least once.
8300 is GRHS administrative secretary Becky Mozley’s extension, and for 22 years, Becky has been the go-to person at the high school.
After 24 years with Sweetwater County School District #2, Becky will be retiring and leaving behind a monumental presence at the high school.
Read more here.
